Multiple Choices

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brother and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)

I am presently taking a course that deals with language assessments. One of my assignments for next week is to create multiple choice vocabulary questions for an exam. I find myself thinking of all angles of the topic I've chosen and searching for varying ways to incorrectly depict a situation--these incorrect answers would designate the distractions from the correct answer. I am distracted searching for distractions!

I began thinking about other distractions that I focus on from day to day. I am not a cup-half-full person.  I tend to concentrate on what is not going right and fixate on fixing what is not perfect. This makes life difficult for me and for those who have to spend time with me! Life is not perfect, and much that comes our way is tainted. I have found that it is better not to have expectations, because unfulfilled expectations lead to disappointment.

Paul exhorts us in Philippians to rejoice in all circumstances, let go of anxiety and release our worry by leaning on God and going to Him in prayer: "Present your requests to God" (verse 6). What good does our fixating and anxiety do for us or for those who spend time with us? A fretful person is usually not a calm or gentle person; Paul tells us to "Let your gentleness be evident to all" (verse 5).

Contrast the behavior of one who frets with one who is able to release his concerns to God, perceive what is good, right, pure, lovely, and admirable and be thankful for God's blessings. Such a person exudes the peace of God that transcends the unease of a worrier and guards the heart and mind in Christ Jesus. I want to focus on what is praiseworthy and not be distracted by the multiple choice concerns that keep me from experiencing God's peace.

Dear Lord, Thank You that I am forgiven and loved by You. Teach me to think about whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. I want to put these skills into practice and ask Your guidance in this endeavor. Only in You will I find real peace.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV) reads:

 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

I love this prayer Paul said for his Christian friends in Ephesus.

What truly is rich and glorious? It is easy to get caught up in a fear about what we have and must constantly repair or what we don’t have and long for. I often think, “If I only had a bit more money, I could fix my house up or travel more often, etc.  Do these material things bring me strength? No!  I derive strength from my Lord and Savior.  When Christ dwells in my heart through faith, His Spirit entrusts me with a power I do not possess on my own.  When I am rooted and established in Christ’s love, I wonder at the sacrifice Christ paid for me. I recently went to a writers’ conference and took a class on power speaking. While standing in a circle, the instructor asked us to reach with our arms and place our hands toward the center of the circle with eyes closed. We were to stay this way until we heard something from God. I am of Lutheran heritage. We are quite reserved and value solitude in prayer with God.  Although this made me a bit uncomfortable, I played along.  Sure enough, God started to send adjectives my way!  The first word that came to mind was actually a noun – health.  When I am nervous and anxious, my health suffers and I sleep poorly and get indigestion.  The second word that popped into my head was “scattered.”  When I’m anxious, I’m scattered.  My mind flits to all corners thinking, “I need to do this and then complete that….and then another thing until the anxiety increases exponentially. The last word that stuck with me and would not leave my mind was “grounded.”  I realized that when I am established in Christ’s love and rooted and grounded in Him, I don’t fuss and fume and become scattered.  My strength becomes centered in my Savior and He gives me peace and focus. His love surpasses all knowledge!  I pray that you “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!